Study On National Character Of China Of West In The Eighty Century

The national character is a social psychology and a social consciousness produced by the subject with interaction of outer substance and inner spirit in the period of long-term historical development. It is has two exhibiting form, i.e., the inner and the outer. The inner form is a social cultural psychology resembled to collective unconsciousness, and the outer is a universal and repeated action manner and the character of the mostly subjects. In the eye of history, the discussion on Chinese nationality before the 19th century has three stages-the safari times in the beginning, the missionary times of thinking move forward in the middle, and the thinker times of thinking advancing in the end. In the first stage, the safari described the Chinese mainly from the angle of race and the cultural character. In the second stage, the missionary paid more attention to Chinese humanity on the basic of the understanding about Chinese political system and the philosophy. And in the third stage, the hot of China extended to the thinker community and the enlightened thinkers was divided to two groups, i.e., the Sinophilies and the Sinophobies.On the basic of the supporting attitude to Chinese political system and ethical culture, the Sinophilies, represented by Leibniz and Voltaire, considers the Chinese is focus on rationalism of this life being prior to the otherworldliness, collectivism of community being prior to the unit and pacifisms of peace being prior to outspreading. They emphasize on introducing the characteristics of Confucius and some kings, the former is the cultural ideal personality and the latter are described to the political ideal personality. They draw a conclusion that the Chinese has a nationality of being intelligent, rationalism and virtuous from the Chinese instrument, system and thought and the obeying to Li and the words and action in ethical relationship. In the opinion of Sinophilies, the Chinese enlightened political system provides a loose political environment to shaping good personality and the ethical culture play a decisive role in managing a open-minded, merciful and wisdom king and refined and cultured, moderate, justice and virtuous nationality. But the Sinophilies grasps the psychology and personality of Chinese correctly; they beautified the Chinese to some extent. The fact is that the Sinophilies holds the mainstream of thought about Chinese nationality in the early 18th century.On the contrary, the Sinophobies represented by Montesquieu and Diderot, places the Chinese political system into a negative words about"oriental absolutism system". They put a negative attitude to Chinese value tropism and characteristics. Also, they think Chinese conservatism and authoritarianism led to the stagnancy of Chinese civilization, and the lack of mythology shaped the Chinese utilitarian belief direction. Accordingly, they demote the ideal personality character of the sacred and the king, on the other hand, they regard the Chinese common spirit as the nature of slave. They define the Chinese as conservative, be lacking good faith, hypocritical and stupid. These stamps are decided by the nature environment and racial descendiblity. The thought of Sinophobies composes the whole framework after the middle 18th century, even up to now. These enlightened thinkers demote and animadvert on the Chinese nationality usually from their own benefit, but they indeed open out the inveterate habit and shortcoming of Chinese. Their opinion provides good food for thought.Besides clear up the evolvement of occidental thought on Chinese nationality from 13th to 18th century, the author analyses the basic idea of groups of the Sinophilies and the Sinophobies both in point and sphere, discusses the origin and social background of the thought of enlightened thinker of 18th century, and evaluate these thought in general. From the Historical Notion of Moralism, the Sinophilies regarding the Chinese as virtuous aims at erecting a model to the king and the people. From the Historical Notion of Progressivism, the Sinophobies defining the Chinese as slavish and immoral under the dualistic principle aims at proving the superiority of the west in race, thought and morality. So, in the motivation of occidental thinkers'words on Chinese nationality in 18th century, the part of utility exceeds the one of research although they had probed the Chinese nationality into the system, thought and the humanity with the understanding covering the advantages and the disadvantages, and offered a help to Chinese to know and rebuild theirselves towards modernization. To a great extent, the descriptions of Chinese nationality from the enlightened thinkers'pens are not authentic; they are constructed and fabricated designedly.